Free
by Matilda384
Summary: How did Lucius and Narcissa actually find Draco as the battle raged on? This story depicts what happened to them, behind the scenes of the Deathly Hallows book; how they bonded, reunited, became free.


Narcissa tugged on her husband's hand as they ran through the flying jets of light together. "Draco!" she called out desperately for at least the hundredth time. Lucius spotted a Death Eater raising his wand from a distance—pointing it at his wife. "Cissa, down!" he shouted, jumping on top of her and forcing her to the ground. The green light just barely missed them by at least an inch. She was hysterical, however, doing everything she could to find her baby. She pushed and squirmed and tried to stand up. Lucius pinned her down. "Cissa, cissa! _Narcissa!_" he shouted over the noise. She stared at him with teary eyes. "We need to be careful!" That was all he could say before tears swam into his eyes as well. They stood up, but he positioned himself so that as they ran, she was between him and the wall. She was safe. All around them came screams and shouts and orders. They didn't care about the battle. They just wanted their son.

Lucius and his wife rounded a corner where less battles were taking place. "Narcissa the Room of Requirement!" he yelled to her. Being a prefect back in his day made him very knowledgeable about the Hogwarts castle. She trustingly followed him, as always, and allowed herself to be tugged in the opposite direction. They flew down an assortment of hallways. Until the door. The charred, broken door demolished Lucius's hope. "No…" he whispered. If Draco had hidden from the fight in there, and someone had set it on fire, he would have had no way to escape. He was dead. Narcissa let out a horrible scream of utter despair. Lucius held onto her, feeling his own eyes start to burn with tears as the realization crept over him.

"Mummy?"

The voice was small, broken—it held a lot of emotion behind it. Both instantly looked up, afraid of being discovered not fighting for their Lord. Draco peered out at them from behind a big pillar. He was dirty, bloody, and completely broken in spirit. But recognizable. Narcissa ran to him. "Draco!" she cried out, throwing her arms around him as if everything was fine, as if he had just come off the train at King's Cross….

But Lucius knew this was so much deeper. Draco hadn't addressed Narcissa as 'mummy' since he was seven. The pair appeared so weak and so involved in just hugging each other that they crumple to the ground. Draco was limp in his mother's arms. She kissed his cheek over and over again. "Baby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry this happened. It's going to be alright—Mummy's right here. I'm right here, Draco. Just hold on a big longer." she whispered quickly. He was near collapsing. Out of the corner of his eye, Lucius saw a Death Eater run past the entrance of the hallway. It wasn't safe anymore. Narcissa pulled her son into her lap and rocked him, holding his head against her breast like a child. She suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and her son. Lucius sat down with them, his back towards the hallway's beginning, so that if anyone should discover them and use a Killing Curse, he'd go first. Not his wife and son.

Draco looked up into his father's eyes weakly. He looked incredibly defeated—almost sickly. "Daddy…" he whispered with a hoarse voice. Lucius squeezed them tighter. "Just a few more minutes, Draco. The Dark Lord only has a few more minutes of life left." he murmured. Narcissa was still crying hysterically. She was scared: scared for her family—scared that if the Potter boy didn't succeed, there would be no escape for them. They'd be punished severely again. Draco still had scars on his bared chest from the curses used upon him at the Malfoy Manor. "Cissa, calm down." her husband eased gently. "I'm protecting us. It's going to be alright." Draco whimpered in fear as he thought about the situation. "I-I…I want to go home…" he whispered tearfully. Narcissa broke. She crumbled on top of him, trying to hold every inch of him in her arms. "I know, sweetie! I know! We'll get there, my baby, I promise! Your father will take us home in just a little bit! Just please hold on for me, Draco—please don't…don't die!" she sobbed.

Lucius felt utterly sick. He knew his son wasn't dying, but it was clear that he was very, very damaged. In all ways possible. Why couldn't Potter just hurry up and kill the Dark Lord already?! Suddenly, everything stopped. All of the noise, the screaming, the bangs. Stopped. Lucius beckoned for his family to follow him as he crept to the Great Hall. He discretely watched as the Potter boy and the Dark Lord circled each other, hissing things back and forth. At one point, Potter shouted, "The true owner of the Elder wand is Draco Malfoy!" Narcissa felt Draco shudder and let out a pitiful whimper at hearing his name. He huddled even closer into her arms. She squeezed her eyes closed, waited for it to just be over…please let it just be over….

The next thing she remembered hearing was cheers erupting from everywhere. Lucius looked at her. "It's over," he whispered. Draco's knees gave out instantly, and he collapsed in his mother's arms. Lucius carried him into the Great Hall, where they sat at a table together, huddling close so no one could threaten them or their son. Draco swooned as he was supported by his parents. "I want to go home…" he whispered. Narcissa kissed his cheek. "It's our home again, love. No more people staying. No more meetings. It's ours." Lucius took his son's feeble hand. Draco must've been so incredibly stressed for all that time—he weighed nothing. For the first time, Lucius looked at his son without expectations or regards. He saw him in a whole new light. Draco was lost—he needed love and care after being so neglected and pushed aside for all that time. He was a toy for Voldemort. And now…now they were all free. Narcissa looked at her husband. "Let's give him some time to rest before we go." she said. Food appeared on the tables. None of the Malfoys ate (even though they tried to coax their skinny son to at least have something), and instantly slipped out as people began flooding out of the Great Hall to celebrate around the castle.

They were free. When they returned to Malfoy Manor, it didn't appear so grotesquely looming. It was time to make it comfortable again. Time to be a family.


End file.
